Shingle and like material



Jan. 20, 1942. L. KIRSCHBRAUN 2,270,734

SHINGLE AND LIKE MATERIAL Filed April 11, 1941 .2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 1557:? A/IPJCA/EPAA/N.

ATTORNEY j T J l L. KIRSCHBRAUN 2,270,734 SHINGLE AND LIKE MATERIAL Filed April 11, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 all] 7 113.5 54 Tlcilflmy W Mil/M1 xamxmi INVENTOR Z: s 752 WPJCHQPA u/v.

95 95 ATTO RNEY Patented Jan. 20, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT osslcs 2,210,134 snmom AND mm MATERIAL Lester Kirsehbraun, New York, N. Y.,assignor to The Patent and Licensing- Corporation, New York, N. .Y., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 11, 1941, Serial No. 388,007

Claims.

terial, such as asphalt. In this type of materiaL.

which has long been known and used for the covcring' of roots and sides of buildings, mineral granules have been commonly employed as a suriacing for the bituminous weather protective I coating layer. These granules, which are of various colors, are partially embedded in the coatin; layer by projecting the same onto a coated sheet while the coating is hot so that they are aflixed thereto by adherent contact of the granules with the bituminous coating layer. The mineral granules so employed are graded so as to pass an 8 to mesh screen and be retained on a 35 mesh screen, and are intended to function, by

their masking effect, to protect the coating layer [mm the deteriorating eflect of light and other weather influences which tend to destroy the bond which holds the granules to the bituminous coating layer. While the .granules that have usually been employed for this'purpose arethemselves opaque to light, I have observed that the bituminous coating material in the'interstitial spaces between adjacent granules as thus afllxed to the coating is directly exposed to the action at light and other weather influences. These interstltial spaces, where the bituminous coating is directly exposed to the action of the light often constitute as much as to of the area of the surfacing. Consequently, these granular surfacings inadequately protect the bituminous coating layer and are subject to deterioration through the direct exposure of a' substantial portion of coaing to the action of light and weather.

The pr'nclpal object of my invention is to provide an improved form of composition material of the general character described, wherein the weather surface consists of a weather-resistant and ornamental layer of unbroken continuity him is continuous in its opacity to light to thereby competely mask the layer of weatherprooi coating material applied to the lace of the product which in use will be exposed to the weather.-

Accord'ng to the invention, sheet material which will provide a continuous barrier to the action oi direct light upon the weatherproof bituminous layer is applied at least to those por- 56 Fig 12;

tions or the bituminous layer which are in the.

area of the material to be exposed to the weather in use. This sheet material comprises a felted web of asbestos fibers, the web being treated as 5 presently tobe described in detail, so as to render the same permanently unaffected by moisture and exposure to light. The treatment of the asbestos felt or paper web for rendering the same weatherresistant is designed also to stiilen and strengthen lo the web, thereby increasing the rigidity of the finished material especially where the base is oi a flexible hature. To those ends, the treatment of the asbestos web employed as the weather surfacing in accordance with the invention com- 5 prises the impregnation oi the web with a solution of a soluble silicate, such as silicate of potassium or silicate of sodium, the impregnated soluble silicate being transformed in situ within the web into an insoluble metallic silicate.

20 Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent i'ro'm the more detailed descrlption which is to follow and from the accomp nyins drawings in which- I Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the upper face 25 one form of composition shingle embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-2 01' Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of apparatus, for the most part conventional, that may be utilized for the production oi shingles such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a partial plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3, taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3; 15 Fig. 5 is a plan view showing another form of shingle embodying the invention;

' Fig. 6 is' a longitudinal section through the shingle of Fig. 5, taken along line 6-4 0! Fig. 5'; Fig. 7 is a plan view showing still another form 10 oi shingle embodying the invention;

Fig. 8 is a transverse section oi the shingle shown in Fig. 7, taken along line 8-8 01' Fix. '1;

1 'Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing another ,tor'm of shingle embodying the invention; Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line lO-Jl of Fig. 9;

Fig. ii is an enlarged detail in cross-section taken along line llll of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic illustration of apparatus, for the most part conventional, adapted for the production'oi shingles of the i'orm shown in Figs. 9 to 11;

1 1g. 13 is a plan" view oi a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 12 taken along line ll-li of ha weather-protective coating layer ll. cordance with customary practice, this weather-,

m. t is a plan view a: another portion of the apparatus of Fig. 12 taken along line "-14, and

' plicable to composition material of the flexible basetypalhaveshowninthcdrawingsmd shall herein describe several embodiments of the invention in the form of shingles and shingle strips made from acontinuous web of fibrous felt. However, the invention is not limited to use in the production of flexible base material. The weather-resistant surfacing herein described will provide considerable advantage when used in connection with other types of base material, such as wood, fiber insulation board, waterproof mastic compositions, etc., which are provided with weather protective coatings of the nature of asphalt to adapt them for use under conditions of exposure tothe weather. An illustrative embodiment of the invention in this form is also shown in the drawings and described herein.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, there is illustrated a roofing or siding element in the form of a strip shingle ll, comprising an elongated piece of material provided in the lower half section with rectangular slots ll intermediate the ends thereof and semi-rectangular notches I! at the ends. These slots and notches define'tabs If constituting the exposed portions of the element when it is laid in customary fashion with other like elements on a roof or side wall in successive. partially overlapping-courses. the: butt edge --ll of the elementsin one course being aligned or registering with the upper ends of the tab-defining slots and notches of the strips'in the preceding course. The. base of the element, indicated by the numeral ll, comprises any of the usual grades of felt customarily employed for this type'of building material, and may consist of felt made from rag fibers admixedin suitable proportions with wood fibers. waste news fiber or the like. In accordance with customary prac-' point or the order of 140' r. The upper face of the element, namely, that face which is intendedto be exposed to the weather, is provided with In\ ac- .protectivemedium consists bf. relatively high melting point asphalt,'say 220' I". melting point,

i erei-asiy combined with finelydividtd nubimaterlalgsuch asslate dust. This weather-protective coating \layerJl has applied thereto surfacing material of weather and wear-resistant char- -prising the surfacing layer 201s preferably a creped sheet, with the crepes running ina gen- I ub n of the crepe paper at the interface between the sheet and the coating layer, thereby insuring a very secure bond of. the asbestos paper layer to the coating layer. The creped form of the layer 20 also imparts a desirable texture to the surface of the finished product, simulating the grain of wood shingles.

I have found that asbestos paper of a caliper of 0.010" to 0.030" and weighing from about 5 to 10 pounds per 100 square feet, is satisfactory for the surfacing sheet when treated as hereinafter described. Where it is desired that the portions of the element to be exposed, namely the tabs ll, shall be of a color other than the normal whitish color of asbestos paper, the asbestos paper comprising the surfacing layer 20 may be suitably colored during its manufacture, as by pigmenting the fibrous-stock from which the paper is made.

Since asbestos paper as normally produced cannot be exposed to the weather for long periods of time without becoming disintegrated, under the washing action of rain etc., the asbestos paper employed as the weather-resistant surfacing in accordance with the invention is treated to render the same permanently unaffected by moisture and light exposure, I prefer to subjet the asbestos paper to such a treatment prior to its application to the bituminous coating layer in the manufacture of shingles or other forms of roofing etc. As will presently be described, however, this treatment may, if desired, take place after the asbestos paper has been applied to the coating layer. This procedure, however, results in a tendency of the asbestos paper to shrink and cause curling of the flexible base sheet and accordingly the pretreatment procedure is preferable.

As already indicated, the treatment for rendering theasbestos paper suitable for use as surfacing for the coating, layer ll, comprises the impregnation of the sheet with a solution of a bilized reaction product serves to stiffen and.

strengthen the asbestos paper layer 20 and thus rigidifies the finished shingle,- this rigidity effect being much greater than would be obtained from the asbestos paper in the absence of its treatment withthe silicate.

Where theasbestos paper that is employed in c out the invention is onethat has beenp ented to obtain a desired color other than white in the exposed section of the finished shingle, it is preferable to employ potassium silicate rather than sodium silicate, because of the tendency of sodium silicate to deposit under certain conditions encountered in service, a whitish ma-- terlai or eillorescence sometimes referred to as a deposited when sodium silicate is employed become removed under the continued action of the erai direction at right angles to the butt edge ll of the shingle strip. With'thecreped form of .sheet, asphalt of the hot coating layer I I is displaced into and conforms with the configuration rain, the appearance of the bloom is nevertheless objectionable. Potassium silicate does not deposit any bloom-forming constituents and on this account isv preferable where colors other than white are desired in the finished product. On the other hand. where the finished product is to have a white or nearly white color. sodium silicate may be employed for impregnating the asbestos. paper, for in that instance the bloom, being a Although bloom-forming constituents v 2,370,134 white deposit, does not detract from the appearance of the finished product.

In practice I have obtained satisfactory results when using for the surfacing layer 20, asbestos paper of the weight and caliper above stated and treated by spraying one face of the asbestos paper with 30 Baum potassium silicate at the rate of about 1% to 3 pounds of the silicate, mixed with an equal weight of water, per 100 square feet of the asbestos paper. The higher-the amount of silicate, within the above range, the harder and tougher will be the surface, and the less will be the tendency for the asbestos layer to disintegrate at the surface or to shrink and cause the shingle to curl. If the silicate with which the asbestos paper is sprayed is too concentrated, or

the amount too great, the paper'has a tendency to shrink, and consequently when using silicate of the Baum gravity mentioned, it is desirable to dilute-it with about an equal weight of water.

'This silicate treatment of the asbestos paper, as above stated, preferably precedes the application of the paper to the layer of coating material in the manufacture of the shingles. If desired, this pretreatment of the asbestos paper with the silicate may be carried out at any convenient point during the manufacture of the paper as, for example, along the driers of the asbestos paper making machine. While elevated temperatures are not required for securing the insolubilizing reaction between the soluble silicate and the lime constituents of the asbestos paper, this reaction can bediastened by the application of elevated temperatures, such as those that would prevail if the soluble silicate is applied while the asbestos paper is passing over one or more of the driers at the end of the asbestos paper making machine. Also, if desired, in order to obtain certain colors in the exposed surface of the finished product, suitable pigments may be incorporated in the soluble silicate with which the asbestos paper is impregnated. However, the ornamentation that may be provided in the finished product bymixing pigments with the soluble silicate is not as durable on exposure to the weather as is the ornamentation that is providedwhen the asbestos paper itself is colored by incorporation of pigments with the fibrous stock from which the as-' bestos pap r is formed. I

, Shingle strips of the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and embodying the invention. as hereinabove de'scribedmay be produced by cutting them from a parent sheet prepared by apparatus diagrammatically illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. The base sheet is indicated by the numeral 30 and comprises a continuous web of felt of the kind commonly employed in the manufacture of fiexible type shingles. Thus, the felt may be composed of rag fibers admixed with suitable proportions of other vegetable fibers and is impregnated with low melting point asphalt or other water-resistant saturant. The saturated felt web is fed from aconventional looping device 3| through guide rolls 32 to a coating device. The coating device is arranged to apply, as by means of a feed pipe 33, asphaltic coating material to the upper face of the web llpthe thickness of this layer being tating in a pan of asphaltic coating material 30.

In actual practice, the width'of the web 30 is a multiple of the width of the strips to be severed widthwise of the web. In the particular embodi ment illustrated in Fig. 4, the width of the web is such as to produce four rows of such strips widthwise of the web.

After theasphaltic coating material has been applied to the web and while this coating material is' in hot molten state, there is afilxed along those areas of the coating layer which are to constitute the exposed portions of the strips 'to be severed from the web, a ribbon or ribbons of asbestos paper to constitute the surfacing layer 20- of the finished shingles, the remaining areas of. the coating layer being surfaced with granules constituting the granular surfaced area Ii of the strip, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. In the particular arrangement of the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, two separate ribbons 30, 4! of asbestos paper are applied to the layer of coating material on the web; each of these ribbons being of a width twice that of the asbestos paper on the finished shingle. Thus, when the web is severed longitudinally through the median line of each ribbon applied to the web and also longitudinally midway between the opposed edges of the two ribbons, four rows of shingle strips will be produced. The ribbons of asbestos paper tobe applied to the coated web may be fed from supply rolls located above the sheet and guided to proper position on the coating layer by means of guide rolls I. These ribbons of asbestos paper may be either of the normal whitish color of asbestos paper or may be suitably colored, as by mixing suitable pigments with the stock from which the paper is formed. Preferably, these ribbons of asbestos paper are treated, prior to being applied to the coating layer, with sodium silicate and the sodium silicate insolubilized in the manner already described.

Immediately following the application of the ribbons of asbestos paper 38, III to the coated web, the web passes under a hopper ll containing any desired mineral granules which are fed from the.

hopper and showered onto the sheet whereby they will adhere to the zone of the coating layer not covered by the asbestos paper ribbons. The web may then be passed around press rolls 4!, It to cause the mineral granules as well as the ribbons of asbestos paper to be pressed into firm adherence with the coating layer. During the e of the web over the press roll 45, non-adherent r I ular material deposited on the web from the hop pers 43, is returned to this hopper as the web is reversed in its passage around the pressroll 43. After the ribbons of. asbestos paper and granular niaterial have been adequately pressed into the coating layer, the web is led into another looping or festooning device "for cooling the same to substantially normal atmospheric temperatures, following which it may be fed to suitable cutting. devices for severing the strips'from the web in accordance with present practice.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate an embodiment .of the invention comprising an individual shingle, formed with a relatively rigid base l0. Thus, the base It may comprise a hardened mastic composed of asphalt mixed with fiber and in ineral or .other filler, formed in tapering crosssectional thickness. Or the base I. may be composed of fiber board such as is commonly used as insulating board. In this case, the tapered base, I. may be provided'by skiving boards of the desired size of uniform thickness to producefrom each such board two pieces tapering in cross-section as illustrated in Fig. 6. The tapered base Ii thus formed may be rendered water-resistant by impregnation with asphalt or the like. n

The upper face of the base I6 is provided with a layer of bituminous coating material l8 and a relatively thin layer of bituminous coating material IS may be provided on'its lower face. The

coating layer I! has aflixed thereto, along. slightly more than the lower half of the shingle, the

creped asbestos paper layer this asbestos pa-,

made from a web of felt base roofing preparedas described in connection with Figs. 1 to 4, except that in this embodiment the asbestos paper layer 20'' applied to the coating layer l8 on the upper face of the shingle covers the entire area of the shingle instead of only the lower section thereof as in Figs. 1 and 2. Inthe production of the web from which shingles of the form shown in Figs. 7 and 8 are to-be cut, the asbestos paper the sheet through a feed pipe I! while the coating on the lower face may be applied by means of the coating roll 14 rotating in a supply box IS. The layer of coating on the upper face of the sheet is then surfacedover its entire area with mineral granules as it'passes under the hopper 11, to provide the granular layer it of the finished product and powdered mica or talc may be supplied to the coating layer on the lower face of the sheet from the supp y box I8 during Dassage of the sheet around the press roll 19. After passage over suitable additional press rolls 80, the sheet may be reversed around a reversing roll 82 and the butt thickening layer of bitumiwould be applied to the coated web. as a single sheet of the same width asthat of the web 30,

no mineral granulrs being supplied to the coat-- ing layer from the hopper 43. As will now be apparent, the same procedure may be employed to produce shingle strips of the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but with the surfacinglayer 20 of asbestos paper the strip.

Still another embodiment of the invention is shown in Figs. 9 to 11. shown for illustrating this embodiment is of the same configuration as the-form shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The base I comprises asphalt saw.

' rated felt and has a layer of bituminous coating material ii on the upper face thereof and a relatively thin layer of coating material 52 on the bottom face thereof." The coating layer 5| has partially embedded therein over its entire area a layer of mineral granules 54. In this embodiment the butt section of the'strip is thickened by .a superposed layer of bituminous coating mate-- rial 59 which extends from the butt edge 60 upwardly for a distance about an inch above the upper ends of the tab-defining slots and notches 55, ii, the coating layer I! having the layer of asbestos paper 82 aiiixed thereto to constitute the weather-resistant and ornamental surfacing for the coating layer 59. This layer of asbestos paper is preferably of the creped variety and contains the insolubilized reaction product resultcovering the entire upper face of.

nous coating,-to constitute the coating layer 59 of theflnished product, is then applied to the sheet in the form of spaced bands as illustrated in Fig. 14, by means of coating rolls 84 rotating in the supply tank 85. While these bands of coating material are still hot andin molten adhesive condition, ribbons of the asbestos paper to const tute the surfacing layer 62 of the finished" product are afllxed to the spaced coating bands. the asbestos paper being fed as from supply rolls 86 and caused to adhere to the bands of coating material and pressed into firm engagement therewith during passage of the sheet over th press drums 88. Following this the sheet may be cooled in the cooling looper SI and then passed through suitable cutting devices for forming the tab-defining slots 9|, slitting the sheet longitudie nally along the median lines 92 of the asbestos 1 strips from the parent sheet as illustrated in The form of shingle there Although it is preferred that the asbestos paper be pretreated with the silicate before it is appl ed to the bituminous coating, itmay be feasible in certain cases to subject the asbestos paper to treatment with the silicate after the paper has been applied or while the paper is being applied to the layer of coating material.

I claim:

1. A shingle or like element for exposure to the weather, comprisinga base and a weatherprotective bituminous: coating layer on the face thereof intended to be exposed to the weather, said coating layer having afllxed thereto on at least that portion of the area of the base which is intended -to. be exposedto the weather in use, a layer of asbestos-paper impregnated with a substantially insoluble metallic silicate.

2. A shingle or like element for exposure to the weather, comprising abuse and a weatherprotective bituminous coating layer on the face ing from impregnation of the asbestos paper with sodium or potassium silicate as already explalned.

In Figs. 12 to 15 there is illustrated diagram matically' a more or less conventional arrangement of apparatus that may be employed for producing the shingles shown in Figs. 9 tall, from continuous webs of felt base material. The web of felt, impregnated with asphalt saturant, may be fed from suitable loopers II by the guide rolls H to coating devices for applying the asphaltic coating material to constitute the layers ii, 52 of the finished product. Thus, the coating on the upper face of the shingle may :be applied to thereof intendedto be exposed to the weather, said coating layer having afllxed thereto on at least that portion of the area of the base which,

is intended to be exposed to the weather in use. a layer of asbestos paper impregnated with the insolubilized reaction product of a water-soluble silicate and the lime content of the asbestos.

3. A shingle or like element for exposure to the weather, comprising a base and a'weatherprotective bituminous coating layer on the face thereof intended to. be exposed .to the weather,

.said coating-layer having aifixed thereto on at least that portion of the area of the base which is intended to be exposed to the weather in use,

.a layer of asbestos paper impregnated with the Y msolubiljized reaction product of a water-soluble silicate and the lime content of the asbestos, the

asbestos paper being creped, the lines of the crepe extending generally in a direction at right angles to the butt edge of the base.

4. A shingle or like element for exposure to the weather, comprising a base and a weatherprotective bituminous coating layer'on the face thereof intended to be exposed to the weather, said coating layer having aflixed thereto on at least that portion of the area of the base which is intended to be exposed to the weather in use,

a layer of pigmented asbestos paper hardened by the insolubilized reaction product of potas-.

sium silicate and the lime content of the asbestos. 5. A shingle or like element for exposure to the weather, comprising a flexible base and a LESTER KIRSCHBRAUN. 

